Movie Review : Zindagi na milegi dobara

Rating : 4/5
Genre : Drama
Year : 2011
Running time : 2 hours 35 minutes
Director : Zoya Akhtar
Cast : Hrithik Roshan, Abhay Deol, Farhan Akhtar, Katrina Kaif, Kalki Koechlin, Naseeruddin Shah, Deepti Naval, Ariadna Cabrol, Suhel Seth
Kid rating : PG-13

ZINDAGI NA MILEGI DOBARA : YUPPIES IN SPAIN !

Zoya Akhtar’s new film sorta reminds me of Farhan Akhtar’s past films – “Dil chahta hai”and Lakshya, in that it’s a pretty personal film and features fairly well-off, upwardly mobile folk – no poverty laden angst here. “Zindagi na milaegi dobara” is about friendships and relationships and the ties that bind and gag (to quote Erma Bombeck). The story goes thusly : 3 friends set out on a “bachelor” party of a lifetime to travel through Spain. Going by appearances that’s what it is – a pleasure jaunt for three affluent young men out to experience the wonders of the world. Below the surface however it appears that the three have to find themselves and resolve a major conflict in their respective lives.

Imran (Farhan Akhtar) is an ad agency copywriter, and the joker of the group. Wisecracks, practical jokes and some lovely pidgin English impressions are his forte. Arjun (Hrithik Roshan) is an investment banker in love with filthy lucre. Kabir’s  (Abhay Deol) family is into construction, and when he proposes to the daughter of another business family Natasha(Kalki Koechlin), the time is ripe to go on an extended guy-trip with three of his closest friends. The plan then, is to travel through Spain, experiencing three new and different sports, each chosen by one of the three and kept a surprise until the very end.

As they begin their holiday, they meet and become good friends with beautiful swim instructor Laila (Katrina Kaif). Love is in the air, but so is jealousy as Kabir’s new fiancée gets wind of the new girl in the bachelor party. Besides all the personal drama, the three must also face their physical fears (and metaphorically their emotional ones) in three new adventure sports. The journey will soon end, but will Arjun, Imraan and Kabir get what they wanted out of it ?

ZNMD is well-directed, even though it’s story is stretched thin at times. The first half is full of great humor – casual, everyday humor, natural and well-shot. The second half flags just a little bit, and I thought the ending a tad abrupt. Music by Shankar-Ehsaan & Loy is average although “Khaabon ke parinday” and “Ik Junoon” stood out. ZNMD is shot quite a bit in Spain, amid beautiful locales and features world famous events such as the Tomatina Festival of Bunol, and the running of the bulls in Pamplona.

Akhtar, Roshan and Deol do well – their friendship comes across as tight and tangible, and they themselves come across as real characters, with real feelings and flaws. Akhtar is a natural actor and does the nutty humor very well. Hrithik has gotten thinner (if that’s possible) and looked younger, fitter and very  –ahem- visually appealing. Abhay Deol is the philosopher of the three friends, and is well-suited to playing Kabir – something he does with ease. Katrina as Laila is herself – an Indo-Brit girl, and her acting is passable. Kalki is cute in her role and does a fine job of portraying Natasha.

This film is to a great extent a “guy” film, more so than “Dil chahta hai” ever was. The main characters here are the three men, and ZNMD is about male bonding while doing “manly” stuff. The women here are either the user-gold-digger types, aka Shruti (whom we hear of but never get to see), unsteady Rohini who wanted too much and married another on the rebound, shrewish-but-sweet Natasha who is threatening to overwhelm Kabir with her possessiveness, or the I’m-a-guy-with-boobs quality Laila. Not a single female character strikes me as “real” here – something I’m a little disappointed about.

This is a good film, but falls sort of the “Dil Chahta Hai” mark – I give it a 4 star rating, with reservations.

Kidwise : This film has a U/A rating from the Indian Censor Board – which amounts to “parental guidance”. I give this an equivalent PG-13 rating, since it’s for the most part clean and classy. It does have lip-locks, language (f—, a—hole etc.) and some verbal and hinted at references to sex and adult relationships.